Quick question about ponds/fish

[Pleco1415]

I was curious to know what people do with there fish during the winter. I have an outdoor pond in my backyard and I have some fancy goldfish in there and I just wanted to know what I'm so pose to do with them during the winter. My main question is do people keep them outside during the winter or do I have to take them in?


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[absolutangel04]

Moved to the Ponds section.

 

[icydeath]

It depends on the goldfish you have, the depth of your pond, and how cold the temperature in winter gets.

I'm going to assume you didn't put celestials or the like in your pond and that you have the usual fancy goldfish (orandas, moors, fantails, ryukins).

IMO I think you would be okay to leave them outside as long as your temperature outside doesn't drop too low. However, goldfish have been known to overwinter well, even when the pond freezes over. You may want to consider a floating deicer so your fish can get air and you are good to go.

But, you could always play it safe if you live in colder climates and bring them in. Just make sure you have a cycled filter!

One more thing to add, you should feed your fish less as the temperature drops and stop feeding entirely when the water hits sub 50 Fahrenheit as their metabolism slows drastically.

In short, you should be okay as long as the water temp isn't too low and remember to lessen or stop feedings.

 

[Pleco1415]

It depends on the goldfish you have, the depth of your pond, and how cold the temperature in winter gets.

I'm going to assume you didn't put celestials or the like in your pond and that you have the usual fancy goldfish (orandas, moors, fantails, ryukins).

IMO I think you would be okay to leave them outside as long as your temperature outside doesn't drop too low. However, goldfish have been known to overwinter well, even when the pond freezes over. You may want to consider a floating deicer so your fish can get air and you are good to go.

But, you could always play it safe if you live in colder climates and bring them in. Just make sure you have a cycled filter!

One more thing to add, you should feed your fish less as the temperature drops and stop feeding entirely when the water hits sub 50 Fahrenheit as their metabolism slows drastically.

In short, you should be okay as long as the water temp isn't too low and remember to lessen or stop feedings.

I'll probably have to take them as I live in Canada and the temp goes below 0 degrees C during the winter. The pond is about 17 inches deep but I'm not sure how much would freeze over.


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[icydeath]

Yeah at 17 inches you would be best off taking them in. A lot of the people who over winter have ponds that are pretty deep (3+ feet I believe).

If you need anything else feel free to ask, Raymond

 

[icydeath]

How many degrees lower does it drop from 0 C?

 

[Fresh2o]

When I had a few comets in a small pond (20" deep) I would leave them outside for the winter. I live in Virginia if that helps. It would freeze occasionally but the floating heater left a small area open for gas exchange.
I don't have the comets anymore because of a hungry raccoon. I have mosquito fish in there now. They have over wintered fine the last two seasons.

 

[icydeath]

You have a lot more leniency with a 2 foot pond than a 17 incher but it depends on how much the temperature drops. You could probably over winter them if you get a floating heater like Fresh2o uses.

 

[Pleco1415]

You have a lot more leniency with a 2 foot pond than a 17 incher but it depends on how much the temperature drops. You could probably over winter them if you get a floating heater like Fresh2o uses.

It's really unpredictable how much it drops. It seems like some winters are colder than others. At an average I'd say -10 C. You mentioned a heater what kind?


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[Pleco1415]

When I had a few comets in a small pond (20" deep) I would leave them outside for the winter. I live in Virginia if that helps. It would freeze occasionally but the floating heater left a small area open for gas exchange.
I don't have the comets anymore because of a hungry raccoon. I have mosquito fish in there now. They have over wintered fine the last two seasons.

The raccoons are such pest I know. Outside on my deck I had a 15 gallon planted tank with clams in it. Not very exiting but it looked nice. Anyhow the raccoons got the lid open some how one night and they ate all the clams and they even ate part of the filter cartridge. If your curious to know what kind of filter it was a tetra 20i internal filter. Yah no joke. After that when I saw the raccoons one night I sent my dog out and he took care of them. Anyhow now back to the main topic so there fine with a floating heater? And what kind I always see different brands?


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[jlk]

I was curious to know what people do with there fish during the winter. I have an outdoor pond in my backyard and I have some fancy goldfish in there and I just wanted to know what I'm so pose to do with them during the winter. My main question is do people keep them outside during the winter or do I have to take them in?

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If they are fancies, bring them inside. Comets and commons even would have a difficult time surviving your winters with such cold temperatures and without the protection of deep water.

My expensive fish are usually brought in around the end of October (pond temps in low 50's/the same time feeding stops). I monitor the temps closely once we hit the end of September and keep a close eye on everyone for signs of thermal stress. Some of my fancies do stay out year round (with de-icers and circulation pumps) without an issue but this past winter (which was brutal) proved to be too much unfortunately for some of them.

 

[Fresh2o]

Yes, this winter was especially tough.
I use a 100w floating heater. Looks like a big donut. I cannot remember the brand. Only kicks on when the temps drop below 40F/4C. Melts a small hole for gas exchange. Low wattage.

 

[jlk]

Yes, this winter was especially tough.
I use a 100w floating heater. Looks like a big donut. I cannot remember the brand. Only kicks on when the temps drop below 40F/4C. Melts a small hole for gas exchange. Low wattage.

I have two 500watt de-icers as well two circulation pumps. They kept two small areas of my pond open this past winter but it was simply too cold with too much snow for way too long. Even my two butterfly koi did not survive. Most winters, I don't even need the de-icers but last winter was awful!

 

[Pleco1415]

I'll probably end up bringing most of them back to the aquarium store which are the cheap feeder goldfish. I'm trying not to start any new tanks as they are very time consuming and I already have 3 tanks not counting the pond. There are a couple fish in there that I'll probably keep there the comets. My only question is can I put them in a 40 gallon breeder with an RES turtle? Probably not but I figure I get some peoples advice. My turtle is almost full grown and the 2 goldfish are about the same length as him.


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[icydeath]

I think the bio-load would be too high as you can't keep two comets in a 40 as it is. You could always feed the smaller comets to him/her XD

 

[Pleco1415]

How big do comets get exactly at the store they were listed as small pond comets


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[Fresh2o]

How big do comets get exactly at the store they were listed as small pond comets


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I believe the "small"refers to their current size. Comets can get up to a foot long. Maybe a little more than that.

 

[icydeath]

The comets I helped my grandpa with grew to... 14" in the pond. Some stayed like 8-9" so the size varies a bit but they nonetheless get large.

 

[Pleco1415]

Holy crap that's big! I do have other kinds in there so if I were to try and take a photo could you ID them for me?

 

[icydeath]

Sure!